Soil microbial biomass and activity in wetlands located in preserved and disturbed environments in the cerrado biome

• Main Authors: Ricardo Fernandes de Sousa, Eliana Paula Fernandes Brasil, Cícero Célio de Figueiredo, Wilson Mozena Leandro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia 2015-06-01
• Series: Bioscience Journal
• Subjects: biological properties; enzyme activity; soil respiration; organic carbon
• Online Access: http://www.seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/26176

The veredas (a type of wetlands) are wet ecosystems usually associated with the presence of hydromorphic soils, which often occur in the vicinity of springs and watercourses of the Cerrado region in Brazil. This study aimed to assess microbiological and biochemical soil properties in wetlands (veredas) located in preserved and disturbed environments (in farming and grazing areas) in the Cerrado biome. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm, along reference lines arranged according to their position in the landscape, in the upper, middle and lower positions of one of the slopes. The total soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (Cmic and Nmic), microbial biomass C:N ratio, microbial quotient, basal respiration, metabolic quotient and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolytic activities in soil (as total soil heterotrophic enzymatic activity) were determined. The soils of veredas adjacent to agricultural and livestock environments showed changes in their biological properties compared to preserved ecosystems. Increased microbial biomass (Cmic and Nmic) is reported in veredas located nearby grazing areas under intensive and technified management, on the soil surface layer (0-10 cm), especially in the lower slope position, while in agricultural environments, under the same conditions of relief and depth, there is a relative decrease in microbial biomass carbon.